AVON and Somerset Constabulary has launched a new non-emergency phone number for people to use when they want to report a crime, get advice or speak to a local officer.

People can now dial 101 instead of the previous 0845 number when they want to contact the force for a non-emergency.

The standard 999 emergency number remains unchanged.

The 101 number was officially launched in the South West this week and is due to be rolled out across the country as a non-emergency police contact for all forces by the end of 2011.

Assistant Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said: "We want our communities to be able to contact us quickly and easily when they need us.

"Using the correct number will help us respond to our calls in the most effective way.

"999 is well-established as the number to call in an emergency but in the past every police force has had a different phone number for non-emergencies.

"The introduction of 101 will provide a simple and easy to remember number for the public to contact us and so enable us to provide a better service to the public."

The 101 line should be used for reporting a crime that does not need an urgent response, contacting a local officer, getting crime prevention advice, making an appointment with a police officer, telling us about local policing issues in your area, or any other non-emergency.

It is hoped that the introduction of a nationwide and simple number will reduce the number of non-emergency calls made to 999.

Currently, one in four calls made to the 999 number are deemed to be "inappropriate", one in four are emergencies, with the remainder requiring non-emergency police assistance.

Calls to 101 will cost 15p per call, irrespective of how long that call may last and applies to landlines and mobile phones.

People who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired will be able to textphone 18001 101.